K-pop band Stray Kids took London ’s collective breath away with an upbeat UK festival debut for BST Hyde Park ’s closing night on Sunday. The South Korean pop group made up of eight charismatic members – Changbin, Felix, Hyunjin, Lee Know, Han, Seungmin, Bang Chan and I.N – has amassed a devoted global audience with their refreshing best-selling discography filled with a range of ballads and electropop hits.
Their gig at the hit London festival came after stunning performances from the likes of Kylie Minogue , Stevie Nicks , Shania Twain , Robbie Williams and Andrea Bocelli , and it was a brilliant closer for BST Hyde Park 2024. ‘This is a career highlight,’ the stars proclaimed to the roaring crowd as they became the second-ever K-pop group (and first boyband) to headline BST Hyde Park the same evening that England took on Spain in the Euro 2024 final. But for anyone who thought the audience numbers may have suffered due to the clash, you would be sorely mistaken.
The venue was packed to the brim in the waning twilight as the majority Gen Z crowd rocked up in head-to-toe merch, hoisting adoring signs and shouting with enough enthusiasm to alert the whole capital that their favourite group was back in London after five long years. And it’s no surprise given the group’s ever-mounting popularity. Stray Kids now boast over 30 million followers on Instagram, four US number ones and over eight million monthly listeners on Spotify.
Here in the UK, the group debuted.